seau
/so/masculine
The English word 'bucket' is translated into French as seau. Wiktionary also lists chaudière.
Meaning: container (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| seau | /so/ | masculine |
| chaudière | /ʃo.djɛʁ/ /ʃo.d͡zjaɛ̯ʁ/ (Quebec) |
Quebec, feminine |
The word refers to a container. You may also encounter the related verb phrase pleuvoir à verse, which means to rain heavily.
Which one should you use?
While seau is the standard French term for a bucket, chaudière is the preferred term in Quebec for a similar container.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, the word chaudière is commonly used for a bucket.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/so/
Did you know?
- In French, the word seau is a homophone of sot, which means 'fool' or 'stupid'.
- In Quebec, the word chaudière is used for a bucket, even though in mainland France a chaudière typically refers to a heavy heating boiler or a large cauldron.
- The word chaudière is etymologically linked to the Latin caldus, meaning 'hot', because it originally referred to a vessel used for cooking.
Examples in context
- Où est le seau ?Where's the bucket?This sentence helps you ask for the location of the seau.Tatoeba #10959863 by GuiFFI, translation #6917947 by Eccles17
- Verse l'eau du seau.Pour the water out of the bucket.This sentence is useful for the action of pouring water out of a seau.Tatoeba #11966974 by lbdx, translation #9387646 by CK
- Emplis le seau d'eau !Fill the bucket with water.This sentence shows how to ask to fill the seau with water.Tatoeba #3657895 by sacredceltic, translation #35471 by CK
- J'ai besoin d'un seau pour laver la voiture.I need a bucket to wash the car.
- S'il te plaît, apporte-moi un seau en plastique pour nettoyer la terrasse.Please bring me a plastic bucket to clean the patio.
- 43 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Emma are cleaning the patio.
- LucasEmma, où est le seau ?Emma, where is the bucket?
- EmmaIl est juste sous la chaise.It is right under the chair.
- LucasMerci, je vais le prendre.Thanks, I'm going to take it.
- EmmaD'accord, Lucas.Okay, Lucas.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bucket” translations and entries seau, chaudière, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries chaudière, seau, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
